… fileircf reptiles & amphibians • 22(4):160–163 • dec 2015 ... , satara,more than...
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IRCFREPTILES&HIBIANS•22(4):160–163•DEC2015
Breeding and Metamorphosis of the Maharashtra Golden-backed Frog (Indosylvirana caesari, Ranidae) from Satara, Maharashtra, India
Amit Sayyed
WildlifeProtectionandResearchSociety,Satara,Maharashtra([email protected])
Photographsbytheauthor.
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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S
Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198
R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida
.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T
World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225
H U S B A N D R Y
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
P R O F I L E
Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
C O M M E N T A R Y
The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
B O O K R E V I E W
Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.
Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo
estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus
aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque
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IRC
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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y
Copyright©2015.AmitSayyed.Allrightsreserved.
WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL
In2013,theWildlifeProtectionandResearchSocietyiniti-atedastudyoftheGoldenFrog(Hylarana cf. aurantiaca)nearThoseghar,Satara(PadhyeandGhate2002).Bijuetal.(2014)subsequentlydescribedthesefrogsasanewspe-cies, theMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari).Indosylvirana caesaridiffersfromallothermembersof thegroupbyasnoutsub-ellipticallypointed indorsalview,thedermalfringealongtoeVwelldevelopedfromtipoftoetoheel,andbyhavingglandularprojectionsendingwithsharpspinulesinmales.Morespecifically,itdiffersfromtheYellowishGolden-backedfrog(I. flavescens)andSreeni’sGolden-backed Frog (I. sreeni) by second-toe webbingextendingmediallywellbeyondthefirstsubarticulartubercle(versustofirstsubarticulartubercleintheothertwospecies),dorsalskingranular(versusslightlytosparselygranularintheothertwospecies).Furthermore,itdiffersfromI. sreenibyan
interorbitalspacewiderthantheupper-eyelidwidth;fromI. indicabyatympanumdiametersmallerthanthehorizontaldiameteroftheeye,thighshorterthanfootlengthinmales,andgranulardorsalskin;fromtheLargeGolden-backedFrog(I. magna)andtheMountainGolden-backedFrog(I. mon-tanus)bysmalleradultsize,snoutsub-ellipticallypointedindorsalandventralviews,anddorsalskingranular;andspe-cifically from I. montanus byathighshorterthanfootlength. Indosylvirana caesarioccurs in theSataraandAmboliDistrictsoftheMaharashtrainIndia(Bijuetal.2014).Moredetaileddistributionalrecordsarelacking.Duringthisstudy,weconductedfieldsurveysinthevicinitiesofKaas,Thoseghar,Panchgani,andMahabaleshwerinthewesternportionsofSataraDistrict,whereweencounteredhealthypopulationsnearKaasandMahabaleshwer.HereinwereportonbreedingandlifestagesofIndosylvirana caesarifromthevicinityofKaas.
Fig. 1.MaleMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari) feed-ingonaSouthAsianCricketFrog(Zakerana sp.).
Fig. 2.CallingmaleMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari).
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MethodsFromNovember 2013 to June 2015 along a stream indense forest near the village of Kaas (17°42’23.91’’N,73°48’20.56’’E),werecordedcallsusingadigitalrecorder(WRU120)andaPMCrecorderinwaveformat(samplerate48,000Hz),tookphotographswithadigitalcamera,mea-surementsofadultfrogsandtadpoleswithdigitalcalipers,temperaturesusinganEEE-techinfraredthermometer(IRT-4;range:-50–550°C),anddeterminedlatitudeandlongitudewithaKestrel4500.Forthestudyofmetamorphosis,wecol-lectedtadpolesandobservedtheminanaquarium.
Results and DiscussionWeobservednofrogsinthestreamwhenthestudybeganon10November2013(Table1),butotherspeciesoffrogswereactiveinthesurroundingarea.On22November,weobservedfivecallingmales,oneofwhichwasfeedingonaSouthAsianCricketFrog(Zakerana sp.;Fig.1)andanotheronaFive-fingeredFrog (Euphlyctis sp.).On24November,wefoundelevenmalesandfourgravidfemalessittingonrocksinthestream;thesizeoftheabdomenofgravidfemaleswas34.06–34.89mm,whereasthatofnon-gravidfemaleswas22.00–22.12mm(Table2).Malescalledfromrocksin
IRCFREPTILES&HIBIANS•22(4):160–163•DEC2015SAYYED
Table 1.ObservationsoftheMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari)inthefield.
Date Time Observations
10NOV2013 1900 Notfound
15NOV2013 2230 Notfound
18NOV2013 1920 Notfound
22NOV2013 1930 5callingmales
24NOV2013 1930 11males,4females
26NOV2013 2200 18males,11females,amplexus
27NOV2013 1859 Amplexus,eggmass(clutch:659±50)
01DEC2013 1920 13males,5females,eggmasses(clutches:612±50,897±50,769±50)
15DEC2013 2200 20males,8females,smalltadpolesobserved
02JAN2014 1859 Callingmales,singleamplexus,tadpoles
31JAN2014 1922 Amplexus(clutch:607±50),tadpoles
13FEB2014 1930 9callingmales,3females,tadpoles
24FEB2014 1938 6males,3females,tadpoles
05MAR2014 2011 7males,tadpoles
17MAR2014 1930 7males,tadpoles,froglets
09APR2014 1945 5males,tadpoles,froglets
24APR2014 2235 2males,tadpoles
02MAY2014 1929 8males,2females,tadpoles,froglets
27MAY2014 1943 3males,tadpoles,froglets
09JUN2014 1913 2males,froglets
21JUN2014 2010 Notfound
12JUL2014 1900 Notfound
25JUL2014 2015 Notfound
06NOV2014 1900 Notfound
11NOV2014 2230 1male
15NOV2014 1920 10males,3females,amplexus
21NOV2014 1930 23males,8females,amplexus,eggmasses(clutches:753±50,836±50)
25NOV2014 1930 11males,4females
28NOV2014 2200 14males,10females,amplexus(clutches:688±50,715±50,769±50*)
*collectedeggsforthestudyofmetamorphosis
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SAYYED IRCFREPTILES&HIBIANS•22(4):160–163•DEC2015
thestreamandfromthebanks,vocalsacsvisiblyinflatingwhentheycall(Fig.2).On2January2014at1948h,weobservedamplexusonthegroundnearthestream(Fig.3)andeggdepositionat2253h.Femaleslaideggsalongedgesofthestream(Fig.4)andamplexuscontinueduntil0305hr.Threeclutchesrangedfrom607to897(±50)eggs(Table1).Watertemperaturewas20.6–25.0ºC.Breedingactivitycon-tinuedintoJune2014,ceasedwiththeonsetofheavyrains,andbeganagaininNovember2014(Table1).Thesefrogsnormallyarenocturnallyactive,butarereadilyseenbydayduringtheNovember–Januarybreedingseason.
Tadpoles arepresentfromNovemberuntilMay.Weobserveddevelopmentalstages(Table3)innatureandalsointheaquarium.Tadpolesizeathatchingwas10.89mm.Groundcolorisolivebrownwithblackspotsontheentirebodyandtail.Thesnoutistriangular.Thetailfinistranspar-entandpointedwithmoderatelydevelopedmusculature.Theheightofthedorsalfinisgreaterthanthatoftheventralfin(Fig.5).Hindlimbsemergedonday80andyellowishdorso-lateralfoldsareevident(Fig.6).Forelimbsappearedonday
Fig. 3.AmplexingpairofMaharashtraGolden-backedFrogs(Indosylvirana caesari).
Fig. 5.TadpoleoftheMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari).
Fig. 4.EggclutchofaMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari).
Table 2. Measurements of gravid and non-gravid femaleMaharashtraGolden-backedFrogs(Indosylvirana caesari).
Female abdominal size Measurements (mm)
Non-gravid 22.00,22.12,22.08,22.10,22.05
Gravid 34.06,34.47,34.89,34.22,34.63
Table 3.MeasurementsoflarvalMaharashtraGolden-backedFrogs(Indosylvirana caesari).TL=totallength,SVL=snout-ventlength,TLL=taillength.
Measurements (mm) Date TL SVL TLL
30NOV2014 10.89 4.21 6.68
15DEC2014 18.96 7.83 11.13
30DEC2014 23.90 9.31 14.59
14JAN2015 27.47 10.39 17.08
29JAN2015 31.94 13.37 18.57
13FEB2015 36.37 16.77 19.60
18FEB2015 36.45* 16.92 19.53
20FEB2015 35.90 16.57 19.33
23FEB2015 35.45** 16.38 19.07
27FEB2015 28.96 15.72 13.24
01MAR2015 24.69 15.23 09.46
09MAR2015 17.09 14.96 02.13
12MAR2015 14.91 14.02 00.89
*Hindlimbsemerge,dorsolateralfoldsevident**Fore-andhindlimbsevident
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85(Fig.7),butthetailwasnotresorbedforanother17days(Fig.8).Frogletswere10.89–14.91mminlengthatmeta-morphosis.Tadpoleswereobservedfeedingon avarietyoftinyorganisms. Predatorsincludedotherfrogs,fishes,crabs,andbirds. Timetometamorphosisoftadpolesraisedintheaquar-iumwas102days;timeinnatureappearedtobeslightlylon-ger,possiblyattributabletolowerwatertemperatures(day-andnighttimeaquariumwatertemperatureswere24–27°Cand22–24°C,respectively,whereasthoseinthestreamwere23–25°Cand20.6–23°C. Althoughnospeciesof IndosylviranahavebeenassessedusingIUCNRedListcriteria(IUCN2012),majorthreatsincludecontinuinglossofhabitat,deforestation,andwaterpollution.
AcknowledgmentsI am sincerely thankful toDr.HemantGhate (RetiredHead,DepartmentofZoology,ModernCollege,Pune),Dr.AnandPadhye(AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofZoology,Abasaheb Garware College, Pune), Dr. Anil Mahabal(RetiredScientist,ZoologicalSurveyofIndia,Pune),Mr.SubhashShelke(DeputyConservatorofForests,Satara),Mr.M.N.Pawar(AssistantConservatorofForests,Satara),andtheForestDepartmentofSataraDistrictfortheirkindsup-port.IalsoamgratefultoMr.JitendraPatole,AtulRajmane,AbhijitNale,AkshayBhagwat,VinayChavan,GajananPimpale, andRahulThombre,membersof theWildlifeProtection and Research Society of Satara, Maharashtra for helpwithfieldwork.
Literature CitedBiju,S.D., S.Garg,S.Mahony,N.Wijayathilaka,G.Senevirathne. andM.
Meegaskumbura. 2014.DNAbarcoding, phylogeny and systematics ofGolden-backedFrogs(Hylarana,Ranidae)oftheWesternGhats-SriLankabiodiversityhotspot,withthedescriptionofsevennewspecies.Contributions to Zoology83:269–335.
IUCN (InternationalUnion forConservationofNature). 2012. IUCNRedListCategoriesandCriteria:Version3.1.Secondedition.IUCN,Gland,SwitzerlandandCambridge,UK.
Padhye, A.D. andH.V. Ghate. 2002. An overview of amphibian fauna ofMaharashtrastate.Zoos’ Print Journal17:735–740.
Fig. 7.TadpoleoftheMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari)withfore-andhindlimbsonday85.
Fig. 8.FrogletoftheMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana cae-sari)withtailmostlyresorbedonday102.
Fig. 6.TadpoleoftheMaharashtraGolden-backedFrog(Indosylvirana caesari)withhindlimbsonday80.